No reason to close Corl Street School

I write to join the many others who have requested that Corl Street School be maintained as a neighborhood elementary school (rather than repurposing the building for some other use or selling the property).

My children, now grown, attended Corl Street Elementary School and received excellent educations in its small-school environment. In addition to its academic strengths, having an elementary school within walking distance for many of its pupils brings health benefits to those who walk (or ride their bikes), as many Corl Street children do. Further, a neighborhood where residents can walk to an elementary school, to downtown State College, and also to the university is a major factor in keeping taxpaying families in the borough.

If the school is closed, we’re likely to see the further flight of families out of the borough — and the further flight of children to charter schools — if families want a small-school environment for their young children.

We’ve been told that Corl Street school is a high-performing school. Thus there is no issue of academic quality that would support a decision to close it. To be sure, some renovations will be needed, but, over time, that’s the case with all our buildings. And if this building were used for a different school board purpose, as has been suggested, we’ve been told that it would need renovations anyway.